Transcription Services

Library Accessibility Services provides eligible students with course readings and other library materials in accessible formats, including PDF for use with screen readers like Kurzweil.

Who is eligible to receive service?

York University graduate and undergraduate students who have been referred by their York University Counselling and Disability Services (CDS) Counsellor. Service is also available to York University faculty and staff once referred from Employee Well Being.

What formats are available?

Students are often provided with PDF scans that are accessible through Optical Character Recognition (OCR), however, material may be obtained in other formats through the Accessible Content E-Portal (ACE) or AERO (the province’s repository service which requires the student to own a copy of the material).

**LAS is now obtaining e-Pub files that are accessible. Please note not all titles are available as e-Pubs. **

How will alternate format materials be delivered?

Physical items are available for pick-up at Library Accessibility Services, electronic files are delivered to students via Papyrus, our online delivery system that allows students to easily download their readings. https://www.library.yorku.ca/papyrus/

How Papyrus Works:

When alternate format course material is available for delivery, students will receive an email notification

This email will contain the login URL. The student will be prompted to log in with their Passport York user name and password.

In order to comply with Copyright requirements students will be asked to agree to the TERMS OF USE (see item E. below)

Once agreement to the TERMS OF USE has been indicated a list of books and course kits assigned will be displayed.

Students can download and open the zipped files, as indicated on the screen.

Students needing hard copy formats (e.g. Large Print, Braille) can pick up their materials at the LAS Service Desk.

Terms of Use:

Digitized readings are supplied by LAS for the student’s individual use only and are protected by the Copyright Act. By agreeing to the terms of use, the student indicates they understand that:

They cannot print or make copies for the purpose of sharing or selling, and that

Digitized material must be deleted once the course is completed.

Students must agree to comply with the terms before material will be supplied by Papyrus.

How long will students have access to the material?

The URL provided via Papyrus will remain an active link to the material for the duration of the course. Once the course has ended, the link will no longer be functional. As per the Terms of Use agreement, students will delete materials they have downloaded to their computers, once the course has been completed.

What material is eligible for transcription?

There are three categories of reading materials:

Required

Recommended

Other i.e. not prescribed by a professor

“Required” and “Recommended” materials are those that are prescribed by professors for the courses they teach, and described as either required or recommended for the course. This is done either in the course syllabus or in writing addressed directly to LAS by the professor. Other readings are materials that the student has selected for the purpose of writing an essay or thesis.

Readings posted in Moodle in a PDF format should already be accessible to the student and are therefore not eligible for transcription. If the material posted by the professor not be accessible, the student should notify the professor. LAS does not have access to student’s Moodle accounts and is not involved in converting this material to a Kurzweil format.

Required Reading

Students must identify and communicate which readings need to be supplied.

All items listed on the syllabus as required reading, which are in the library catalogue, will be supplied by the library in PDF format, via Papyrus.

All books listed on the syllabus as required reading, that are NOT in the library catalogue will be purchased by the student and provided with a receipt to library. If no timely publisher file is available, the library will remove the book’s binding to expedite scanning. The hard copy will be returned to the student.

All articles listed on the syllabus as required reading which are available online in PDF format are the student’s responsibility to access directly from the library. Exceptions will involve students communicating with their CDS Counsellors and providing LAS with an accommodation letter.

Recommended Reading

Requests for books listed on the syllabus as recommended reading and identified by the student as necessary require approval by LAS staff.

Requests for materials which are in the library catalogue will be supplied.

Approved requests for books listed on syllabus as recommended reading, that are NOT owned by the library will be purchased by the student and provided with a receipt to library. If no timely publisher file is available, the library will remove the book’s binding to expedite scanning. The hard copy will be returned to the student.

Other Readings (Research)

The transcription of this material is generally the responsibility of the student. LAS will accept requests when the material is owned by the libraries.

Requests for the scanning of ‘other readings’ are subject to the availability of resources after existing orders for required materials and requests for recommended readings from all students have been fulfilled.

Approved requests for other readings that are NOT owned by the library will be purchased by the student and provided with a receipt to library. If no timely publisher file is available, the library will remove the book’s binding to expedite scanning. The hard copy will be returned to the student.

For these materials in particular, Graduate students have to be an active participant in the transcription process, and may have to do, or arrange independently for, the scanning of some or all of the material when the library does not own the materials.

Reasonable accommodation:

Effective August 2011, LAS reserves the right to limit the number of scanning requests for graduate students. High volume scanning requests by individuals may need to be scheduled from month to month in order to ensure effective and equitable provision of service to all users. Limits will be determined in consultation with the student, the CDS counsellor and the professor.

Role of the syllabus or course outline:

If a student is requesting Transcription Services AFTER classes have started, or enrols in a new course AFTER classes begin LAS must receive a syllabus before proceeding with the request.

If a student is requesting the service before classes start, the department will endeavour to acquire book lists from the Bookstore.

Our Commitment:

We will:

Send notification by email, each term, informing students which Transcription Assistant is handling their file

Begin the process of identifying and acquiring the readings when notified prior to the commencement of classes